Church should be realistic
Mar 25, 2009
EDITOR—During his African visit, Pope Benedict XVI repeated the official line of the Catholic Church about abortion. But it is what he said about HIV and condoms that has attracted international controversy. He said condoms are not the solution to HIV/A
EDITOR—During his African visit, Pope Benedict XVI repeated the official line of the Catholic Church about abortion. But it is what he said about HIV and condoms that has attracted international controversy. He said condoms are not the solution to HIV/AIDS, but added that distributing condoms encourages promiscuity.
Writing from a Christian perspective, I would locate sex in the context of monogamous marriage. It is a framework that would embrace three main values: exclusion (leave all other and cleave to one person), lifelong (till death us do part) and commitment (mutual society, help, and comfort).
This is the Christian ideal. But it is not one that the majority of people in the world or in African society achieve. Even in monogamous marriage, there may be abuse or exploitation. An example is the situation where one of the couple or both refuse to reveal their earnings to the other or invest in ventures that the other partner knows nothing about. When it comes to sex, we know for a fact that pre-marital or extra-marital sex is rampant. Not all pre-marital sex is casual sex.
The Church may teach its moral ideal, but governments and healthcare workers must negotiate the path between ideal and reality. It is easy to say that in Africa the main, though by no means the only channel, for HIV infection is heterosexual sex. From this it is easy to conclude that the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Africa is due to promiscuity.
This view does not explain why infection rates in Africa are higher than those in developed countries. It fails to take into account, and deals callously and insensitively with the hundreds of thousands of women and girls who have suffered rape and have contracted HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in Africa’s civil wars. The Church works to transform people’s behaviour, but it must also embrace realism and human imperfection.
To undertake a policy that would hinder the availability, easy access to, and information about protection (safer sex) would be morally and socially irresponsible. In this regard the state and its health workers should take a position independent of the Church’s official line.
Rev Amos Kasibante
United Kingdom
Writing from a Christian perspective, I would locate sex in the context of monogamous marriage. It is a framework that would embrace three main values: exclusion (leave all other and cleave to one person), lifelong (till death us do part) and commitment (mutual society, help, and comfort).
This is the Christian ideal. But it is not one that the majority of people in the world or in African society achieve. Even in monogamous marriage, there may be abuse or exploitation. An example is the situation where one of the couple or both refuse to reveal their earnings to the other or invest in ventures that the other partner knows nothing about. When it comes to sex, we know for a fact that pre-marital or extra-marital sex is rampant. Not all pre-marital sex is casual sex.
The Church may teach its moral ideal, but governments and healthcare workers must negotiate the path between ideal and reality. It is easy to say that in Africa the main, though by no means the only channel, for HIV infection is heterosexual sex. From this it is easy to conclude that the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Africa is due to promiscuity.
This view does not explain why infection rates in Africa are higher than those in developed countries. It fails to take into account, and deals callously and insensitively with the hundreds of thousands of women and girls who have suffered rape and have contracted HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in Africa’s civil wars. The Church works to transform people’s behaviour, but it must also embrace realism and human imperfection.
To undertake a policy that would hinder the availability, easy access to, and information about protection (safer sex) would be morally and socially irresponsible. In this regard the state and its health workers should take a position independent of the Church’s official line.
Rev Amos Kasibante
United Kingdom